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This is a really sleek build, nice work! Any chance of a link to the seller you got the light from? Tried a search that went nowhere (well, everywhere actually).

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/36-75wt-LED-Aquari...952886471999241

 

Use the "Make an Offer" button, I offered $235 and he accepted so maybe you could go 225 or 230. Also he lets you customize the light. Ask for the brand of LEDs you want, the ratio of blue/white, the color of the fixture (silver or black), and if you want the brackets or the hanging kit.

 

I mentioned it a couple times in this thread but in case you missed it I asked for the hanging kit and I didn't get it. Everything else about the light was what I ordered though. He said he would exchange me a new light to make sure I got the one I wanted, I said it was too much of a hassle for both of us to ship the lights again as well as him have another one made with the eyelets already installed. So he agreed to refund me some of my purchase so I could buy my own hanging kit. The kit I purchased was from Bulk Reef.

 

I wouldn't recommend trying to purposefully get the order wrong to get a cheaper price though.

 

 

This same light is made in a few different lengths so you might be able to contact him directly if you want a different size. Otherwise you would have to order from China directly.

 

Here are 2 24" versions

http://www.aliexpress.com/product-gs/41550...holesalers.html

 

Cheaper but uses Epistar LEDS - free shipping though

http://www.aliexpress.com/product-fm/49451...holesalers.html

Edited by Scorched_Ice7
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Hoses, Clamps, Barb Fittings, Valves, and Nano Flow Spinners didn't make it to the office on Friday so it looks like no progress will be made this weekend.

 

After all my waiting though I still might buy some extra fittings to try out different combinations to see which connects and looks the best.

 

Some of the fittings for a clean look are so hard to find. FlexPVC.com has almost everything. I wish more came in black so I wouldnt have to worry about painting them and having them possibly rub off.

Edited by Scorched_Ice7
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http://www.ebay.com/itm/36-75wt-LED-Aquari...952886471999241

 

Use the "Make an Offer" button, I offered $235 and he accepted so maybe you could go 225 or 230. Also he lets you customize the light. Ask for the brand of LEDs you want, the ratio of blue/white, the color of the fixture (silver or black), and if you want the brackets or the hanging kit.

 

I mentioned it a couple times in this thread but in case you missed it I asked for the hanging kit and I didn't get it. Everything else about the light was what I ordered though. He said he would exchange me a new light to make sure I got the one I wanted, I said it was too much of a hassle for both of us to ship the lights again as well as him have another one made with the eyelets already installed. So he agreed to refund me some of my purchase so I could buy my own hanging kit. The kit I purchased was from Bulk Reef.

 

I wouldn't recommend trying to purposefully get the order wrong to get a cheaper price though.

 

 

This same light is made in a few different lengths so you might be able to contact him directly if you want a different size. Otherwise you would have to order from China directly.

 

Here are 2 24" versions

http://www.aliexpress.com/product-gs/41550...holesalers.html

 

Cheaper but uses Epistar LEDS - free shipping though

http://www.aliexpress.com/product-fm/49451...holesalers.html

 

Thank you!!! As you note earlier long/skinny tanks are tough to light with most of the LED fixtures out there. I've got this 48" x 9" x 9" tank and I see he does a 48" as well...sweet.

Edited by jgilvey
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Thank you!!! As you note earlier long/skinny tanks are tough to light with most of the LED fixtures out there. I've got this 48" x 9" x 9" tank and I see he does a 48" as well...sweet.

 

Ya no problem.

 

Here is a much cheaper version if you aren't afraid of buying directly from China.

http://www.aliexpress.com/store/404851/210...-fish-tank.html

 

"Ships out in 20 days" + international shipping means it could take over a month for you to get it though.

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Cleaning Rocks and Sand

 

According a few local reefers and Reef Central Pukani rock has been known to leech phosphates and dead material long after it is introduced into a new tank. So today I went out and bought some muriatic acid and did a little cookout.

 

 

This batch I just started with my smaller pieces and rubble from when I cut off the bottoms of my main display rocks. I wanted to test the amount of dry off and crap that would come off the little pieces and make sure it wouldn't destroy the nice rocks I was planning to use.

 

cookingpukani1.jpg

 

A few minutes later you can really see the brown gunk that started to rise to the top.

 

cookingpukani2.jpg

 

When it stopped bubbling I emptied the solution and pressure washed off anything remaining. Tons of green and brown slim as well as numerous chunks of tiny organic debris was left on the bottom.

 

After I saw the results of the bright white rocks with no more crap I refilled the container, added the acid and dunked the large pieces. Lots of bubbles now!!

 

cookingpukani3.jpg

 

 

I also washed my Flamingo Reef Sand probably 20-30 times until it started to get really clear. It was still a little cloudy but compared to the thick milk that poured out of the sand on the first rinse I am glad I did it.

 

Overall tons of crap was removed that didn't need to go into the tank.

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Plumbing Testing

 

Ok so my tubing, elbows, and spinners came in. Here are some rough connections for my drain and return.

 

This I would refer to as the usual connection that people take. Flange on the inside with the threading in the back. Well it really takes up a ton of space. And if I cut the threading off and installed spigot street 90s they would be permanently attached. There would be no way to removed the nut as the elbow would be cemented in place.

 

bulkheadplumbing1.jpg

 

This configuration has the bulkheads flipped. With the threaded flange on the outside, nut and gasket on the inside to create the seal. To also cut down on size I will trim off the excess threading on the back of the bulkhead. My 1" strainer will then be glued to the nut as well as the spinner. So if I wanted to the remove the fitting for whatever reason they will twist off with the nut.

 

bulkheadplumbing2.jpg

 

To finish it off the elbow will be painted a gloss black to match the tubing and bulkhead. Now to just find time after work to actually put them in.

 

 

 

Questions though for the experienced plumbers and sump people. Are there any problems with drain lines coming to a Tee and then going into the sump with 1 pipe.

 

I ask because by main design is basically mimicking the Oceanlife Overflow and Xaqua InOut. Each of them use 1" drains and 1/2" returns. I am using 2 drains and 2 returns, but the returns will be coming from a single 1260 pump going to a Tee and splitting the flow in half. My thinking is that joining the drains together will limit the amount that drains similar to that of only 1. I am using 2 so I have a back up in case something covers or gets caught in my bulkhead screen. And putting a valve and cutting each of their flow in half has the problem that if one gets covered now one drain only has the flow of 1/2" and my display will overflow.

 

My main concern that I can think of is that once the water flowing comes to the tee all the air inside will be trapped and will cause a lot of noise. Or maybe it will eventually stabilize and there wont be a problem.

Edited by Scorched_Ice7
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where did you get that out put nozzle at?

 

Its called a Nano Vortex Flow Spinner

 

Available here. It is brand new and I bought it the day Marine Depot got them.

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Do you think pressure washing the rocks will be enough to void it of all the muriatic acid? Are you going to soak them in salt water for awhile? I've heard of this being done LOTS of times, but never written up like this. Good thread going here!

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Builder Anthony

gah that acid is so strong i hate the smell of it.powerwash the heck out of it and soak repowerwash.That stuff is nasty.

Edited by Builder Anthony
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Following closely. Love the design choices.

I never heard of using muriatic acid on dry rock.

Vinegar soak yes, muriatic acid no.

 

I washed my Pukani in RODI 3 times then added to salt water buckets to cycle for 2 months.

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gah that acid is so strong i hate the smell of it.powerwash the heck out of it and soak repowerwash.That stuff is nasty.

 

I agree it was pretty nasty.

 

It has been powerwashed, soaked, and powerwashed a couple times. It is still really damp to the touch even after 2 days. So it is really holding on to the water. I may give it a few more good soaks before I add it to the tank as it is probably holding a small amount still inside the rock.

 

 

Anyone have an opinion on this

Questions though for the experienced plumbers and sump people. Are there any problems with drain lines coming to a Tee and then going into the sump with 1 pipe.

 

I ask because by main design is basically mimicking the Oceanlife Overflow and Xaqua InOut. Each of them use 1" drains and 1/2" returns. I am using 2 drains and 2 returns, but the returns will be coming from a single 1260 pump going to a Tee and splitting the flow in half. My thinking is that joining the drains together will limit the amount that drains similar to that of only 1. I am using 2 so I have a back up in case something covers or gets caught in my bulkhead screen. And putting a valve and cutting each of their flow in half has the problem that if one gets covered now one drain only has the flow of 1/2" and my display will overflow.

 

My main concern that I can think of is that once the water flowing comes to the tee all the air inside will be trapped and will cause a lot of noise. Or maybe it will eventually stabilize and there wont be a problem.

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Plumbing starts tomorrow. And if all goes well. The tank will be wet and salty :D

 

plumbingparts.jpg

 

I trimmed all of the bullheads down and my hoses are all ready. Now to just drill the tank and put it all together. I was all prepared to put the bulkheads in backwards to save space inside the tank and give the outside a cleaner look. Unfortunately the last item for the plumbing was delivered today (The bulkhead screens) and they only go on the flange side. So everything will take up a little more space but I need covers so my fish dont get sucked in.

Edited by Scorched_Ice7
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Well everything didn't go as well as planned. About 2-3 holes into my total of 4 my cordless drill died. I tired to put it on the charger for 30mins to an hour but all I would get was maybe 10 seconds of use.

 

First 2 complete. Smaller return hole is much lower so the spinner stays underneath the water line and doesn't splash.

 

holedrilling.jpg

 

No!! Only one hole to go and the drill has no juice - no the drill doesn't get power from the outlet. It only pulls power from the battery :rant:

 

holedrillingdeaddrill.jpg

 

Nothing really productive happened. I ended up switching the 5.5g tank for a 10g. During my undrilled wet test to find out the best placement for my ins and outs I discovered my returns had to be much lower in the tank than I planned. This means if the pump ever shuts off I will lose a lot more water in my display, so I needed a larger volume underneath for it all to go. My hand barely fits inside with only about 2 inches of room. If it gets too annoying a local reefer might be building me a custom sump.

 

I also ventured to a LFS called Saltwater Empire (for you Twin Cities, MN people) and I was blown away. This is the first time I had ever been there and was only recommenced to go because they had spigots inside the store to fill containers with your choice of RODI or Saltwater. I wasn't expecting the best store I've ever been to. The place was EXTREMELY clean, well laid out, and had beautiful selections of both coral and fish. The prices seemed a little high but quality was really high as well. I will definitely head back there for my water again, as well as new tank mates for my Clownish and corals.

 

I'm heading back to work tomorrow to finish drilling the last hole and hooking it all together.

Edited by Scorched_Ice7
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Plumbing the tank



 

I went into work and finished drilling the glass as well as drilling my stand for piping. I got all the fittings on and everything tightened. The vinyl tubing was a bit of a pain in the ass. It took a few minutes with a blow dryer and lots of mustering to get them on. They were so snug that on one of them I screwed up and I couldn't get it off. Even after heating the piping up. I ended up having to cut the tube length-wise at the barb connection to get it off. Then once I fixed my mistake I really had to grunt to get it back on.

 

overflowwide.jpg

 

overflowoutside.jpg

 

overflowinside.jpg

 

Empty FTS after my leak testing.

plumbingfts.jpg

 

Stand Plumbing

plumbingsetup.jpg

 

I filled it all up and found out I had one leak. In my excitement to put it all together I forgot to put plumbers tape on the first elbow that went into the bulkhead. I drained out a few gallons and fixed the leak. I filled it all up again turned the pump on and admired the flow. It was fun to watch for awhile but quickly saw that my return pump was pushing up way more water than what was going down. I turned the valve I installed after the pump and dialed it down a little so it wouldnt overflow. But this wasn't what I was expecting.

 

At 100% the pump was doing an amazing job circulating the water and making the spinners cause a nice wave. I had to dial my pump down to around 60% and then the spinners slowed to a crawl and it became quite anticlimactic.

 

I based my design on the Oceanlife Overflow and Xaqua Inout and they both use one 1" drain and a 1/2" return. The Xaqua recommends using a Eheim 1260 with their overflow so thats what I used.

 

I however have 2 1" drains and 2 1/2" returns, BUT my returns are Wyed and are coming from the same pump. So I should have twice the drain speed but I don't. What can I do to increase my draining speed. Do I need to add tiny airlines to the top of my drains?? What will increase the speed? I figured one drain would have been able to handle the flow, and the other would just be for emergency.

 

Sorry I have no pictures with it full of water, I was a little disappointed that two 1" drains couldn't beat a single return with head pressure.

 

 

Help!!! All my planning and it isnt working like I hoped.

Edited by Scorched_Ice7
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I really shouldn't need yet another drain. My design was based off the Xaqua and a single one can handle aprox 500 gph. Im running a 625gph pump with head lose, so maybe 550-600 total is going up. The Xaqua uses one drain and can handle a 1260 pump, but my two drain design can not?!

 

Any other options to increase the flow going down. A local reefer mentioned put a hole in the top of each elbow with some airline tubing. Anyone want to double or triple confirm that? Are there any other options? Would using even smaller return tubing cut my flow but increase pressure for the spinners?

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Scorched_Ice7 1st thing is awesome tank.

 

2nd thing I like the design, I am curious about why you had to throttle that 1260 back all that way to 60%

I am using 1/2" return and a 1" drain with a 1260 as well on my build but that is with a tank with an interior overflow box.

 

I have not filled and pumped my tank from the sump to the display so this is purely speculation but.........Maybe your problem is the drain bulkheads covered with slotted covers. Sure your drain pipe size of 1/2" is designed to flow 500 gph but maybe those slotted covers are not "skimming" the water and pulling it down fast like an overflow box (internal or external) would. Also the 90deg bend connected right at the bulkhead may not be helping things along like a couple of 45deg's would.

 

I understand some of my suggestions negate your sleek design just pointing out they maybe the culprit.

I am anxious to learn your conclusions and wish I could help more.

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Perhaps the screen on the bulkhead may be reducing the flow, or perhaps the lack of a breathing hole is keeping it from flowing. Based on my own research when I plumbed my tank, a 1" bulkhead plumbed horizontally will flow approx 320-350 GPH.

 

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BulkheadFloRateArt.htm

 

Being that you have 2 of them, they should be able to handle the flow so I would look into the screen and drilling a breathing hole. However I'm curious why you want such high flow through your tank? I'm only running about 180 GPH through my 18 gallon (10x) and it's perfect.

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I think the answer may be in a combination of what calvin415 and I both speculate.

 

  • Horizontal bulkhead
  • Not a lot of screen frontage area for drain.
  • 90deg turn at bulkhead
  • Lack of breathing hole.

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Scorched_Ice7 1st thing is awesome tank.

Thanks

 

Maybe your problem is the drain bulkheads covered with slotted covers. Sure your drain pipe size of 1/2" is designed to flow 500 gph but maybe those slotted covers are not "skimming" the water and pulling it down fast like an overflow box (internal or external) would. Also the 90deg bend connected right at the bulkhead may not be helping things along like a couple of 45deg's would.

 

I think I tried taking both covers off at one point and the water level still rose faster than it drained.

The covers are designed so the entire part of the grill is actually raised slightly off the bulkhead flange and it allows every part of the slat to take in water, not the just the little section with the hole.

 

Perhaps the screen on the bulkhead may be reducing the flow, or perhaps the lack of a breathing hole is keeping it from flowing. Based on my own research when I plumbed my tank, a 1" bulkhead plumbed horizontally will flow approx 320-350 GPH.

 

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/BulkheadFloRateArt.htm

 

Being that you have 2 of them, they should be able to handle the flow so I would look into the screen and drilling a breathing hole. However I'm curious why you want such high flow through your tank? I'm only running about 180 GPH through my 18 gallon (10x) and it's perfect.

 

Yea I researched that guide and a few others and the rates varied around 300+ where the 600-900 range was under full siphon. So if I was just using gravity I should have two 300 drains giving me 600 total which should match my return. That guide also shows 150 gph with screens, that scares me.

 

I may have to construct something so the screens are pushed out further, allowing the entire opening of the bulkhead to pull water easier.

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